Guangdong's auto production capacity hits 1 mln units

Shanghai, June 6 (Gasgoo.com) As more and more auto joint ventures between China and foreign countries are put into production, the annual production capacity of vehicles in Guangdong province has hit 1 million units now, according to sources from Guangdong Development and Reform Commission, the province's top economic planner.

The annual production capacity of vehicles in Guangdong now hit 1,000,000 units, with an annual capacity of 980,000 units and an annual output of 780,000 units for sedans, ranking second in the country to Shanghai which is home to Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW.

In recent years, Guangdong’s auto industry has witnessed fast growth led by its provincial city of Guangzhou, where three joint ventures set up by major Japanese automakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda have fulfilled the expansion of production capacity since last year. Dongfeng Nissan has expanded to an annual capacity of 270,000 units in Guangzhou. And Guangzhou Toyota’s capacity expansion to 360,000 units is under way.

According to data released by Guangdong Statistics Bureau, the growth pace of industrial investment is slackening off in Guangdong since the start of this year, but auto investment is an exception. In the first four months of 2008, the industrial investment only increased by 8.3% year-on-year, while auto investment surged 69.0% y/y to become a major driver of the province’s industrial growth.